Got a cold and feeling dreadful? Here’s some advice that’s not to be sneezed at
LAURA CLEMENTS looks at the myths and truths surrounding the common cold and separates the facts from fiction...
THE news that honey can be used to battle coughs and colds will come as no surprise to your granny.
According to the latest advice from the experts, antibiotics actually make very little difference to symptoms of acute coughs caused by a cold or flu virus, or even bronchitis.
Even worse, they can have sideeffects.
Honey, in contrast, has long been known to help soothe a sore throat, and is now being recommended by doctors.
Making a warm honey and lemon drink, maybe with a dash of whisky, (also known as a hot toddy) is perhaps the only perk of being ill.
So what about all the other old wives’ tales – can they too make a difference when it comes to keeping away and treating a cold?
COLD BREEDS A COLD:
It’s a common one, this. Did your parents ever tell you that going out in cold weather without enough layers would give you a cold?
If they did, then they were wrong, experts have said.
Studies have shown those living in the Arctic are no more likely to catch a chill than those in a hot country. In fact, some have shown the cold weather may actually stimulate the immune system.
There are, however, correlations between cold weather and colds.
If your body’s core temperature gets too low, then you may get hypothermia, which will lower your immunity and make it easier to catch a cold.
So the cold can indirectly lead to a cold, but doesn’t cause it.
Getting chilled does not cause a cold – at least not under laboratory conditions, experts say.
In one study reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, two groups of people were exposed to viruses that cause the common cold.
One group was exposed to the germs in a chilly 5 degrees C room; the other group, in a balmy 30 degrees C room.
The result? Both groups caught colds at about the same rate.
■ Verdict: Old wives’ tale
GARLIC AND ONIONS:
Garlic might have some cold-fighting abilities.
One trial, by Dr Salber, whose findings were published in a 2014 Cochrane Review of medical literature, found that taking a garlic supplement once a day for 12 weeks did reduce the number of self-reported colds.
However, the tiny sample of people used meant the study was too small for researchers to definitively conclude anything.
Perhaps most worrying was how participants reported side-effects like odour and rashes.
Onions and garlic come from the same family of vegetables so there’s a possibility an onion study could have similar findings.
■ Verdict: Old wives’ tale
FEEDING A COLD:
This old proverb might make some sense intuitively, as fevers, which only last a day or two, can make us feel less hungry. But the scientific research doesn’t back it up.
Evidence, admittedly only from mice, showed when mice ate only 40% of their normal calories for a day, infection with flu was not only more likely, but symptoms were worse and they took longer to recover. There is some debate about the origins of the saying. Some credit Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales.
Others suggest it is a mistranslation and that the intended meaning was that feeding a cold would “stave off” a fever.
Medical advice says when you’re sick with a cold or the flu, your body needs the nutrients of a balanced diet and energy from adequate calories to fight off the infection, especially in the early stages of illness.
There’s no known medical advantage to under-eating or overeating in either case. Staying well nourished and well hydrated is the best advice.
■ Verdict: Old wives’ tale
CHICKEN SOUP:
It’s a wives’ tale as old as time. Chicken soup, otherwise known as Jewish penicillin, is often consumed by cold or flu sufferers.
Jewish scholars have praised its health-restoring ability for centuries. And they may be on to something.
Chicken soup contains a broth made of several vegetables and chicken bones cooked for hours, releasing zinc, calcium and magnesium into the liquid.
Theories as to why it helps relieve cold symptoms include hot soup clearing blocked noses; zinc helping shorten a cold; the hot water keeping you hydrated; and that there are several anti-inflammatory substances to alleviate colds.
■ Verdict: Cure is a strong word, but this one can definitely help
VITAMIN C:
This “old” tale goes back only to 1970 and a book, “Vitamin C and the Common Cold,” by Linus Pauling. Pauling was a brilliant chemist, and a two-time Nobel Prize-winner. In his book, he claimed that mega-doses of vitamin C cured the common cold.
Yet there was very little evidence to back up his claim.
Vitamin C has been widely studied since 1970 as a possible treatment for colds, or as a way to help prevent colds, yet findings have been inconsistent. Overall, experts have found little to no benefit from vitamin C.
In 2007, a sweeping review of 60 years of studies found that taking 200 milligrams of vitamin C every day (two to three times the recommended amount, but still a safe dose) reduced the time spent sick from a cold from about 12 to 11 days per year. It also seemed to cut the incidence of colds in people who were under extreme stress by 50%.
When vitamin C was tested for treatment of colds in seven separate studies, however, it was found to be no more effective than a placebo at shortening the duration of cold symptoms.
■ Verdict: Old wives’ tale
SWEAT IT OUT:
You may have heard that it’s beneficial to “sweat out a cold”.
Whether by inhaling warm steam, visiting a sauna, or taking vigorous exercise, there are various ways to get a sweat on.
But while exposure to heated air or exercise may help relieve symptoms, there’s little evidence to suggest that they can help treat a cold.
Really, it’s the exposure to warm moist air or physical activity, not the actual sweat, that’s beneficial in this case. So while these activities may temporarily relieve nasal congestion by helping to loosen nasal mucus, they don’t offer a cure.
■ Verdict: Old wives’ tale